Langford counterfeiter released, placed on 3 years of probation

A Langford woman who pleaded guilty to a raft of counterfeiting charges has been sentenced to time served and placed on three years of probation.

Victoria provincial court Judge Loretta Chaperon gave Deborah Lynne Thomas credit of 873 days — almost two-and-a-half years — for the time she has spent in pretrial custody.

Chaperon ordered the 34-yearold, who has been released from Alouette Correctional Centre for Women, to take counselling or attend a residential treatment programs as directed by her probation officer.

Thomas pleaded guilty this year to 27 charges that amalgamated the 55 times Thomas passed counterfeit money in the West Shore and Victoria. The charges also included breaches of her bail conditions and charges of obstructing justice.

At her sentencing hearing in May, court heard that Thomas first came to the attention of police in 2015 as a prolific counterfeit passer in the West Shore.

She used counterfeit money at A&W, Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Western Foods, Shoppers Drug Mart and liquor stores. She also fed counterfeit money into a kiosk at the Superstore four times.

Thomas took advantage of busy or inexperienced cashiers, using $50 and $100 fake bank notes to buy an item of small value and get change.

Later, managers sorting through the cash would find the fake money. Each counterfeit episode, all 55 of them, required a full police investigation.

During a search of Thomas’s apartment on Nov. 25, 2015, police found $61,230 in counterfeit Canadian bills and $3,640 in American bank notes.

Thomas was arrested in December 2015 and released on surety bail in April 2016. Her surety asked to be relieved of her obligations and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

However, Thomas remained at large and continued to make and pass counterfeit bills in the community in the spring and summer of 2016.

In August 2016, she used fake money eight times at stores in downtown Victoria.

In the late summer of 2016, police discovered Thomas and her partner, Andrew Charles, were living at the home of a disabled man in Oak Bay. They had taken over his living room and essentially, confined him to his own bedroom, court heard.

Police obtained a second search warrant for this apartment and found counterfeit money totalling $7,970 and tools for making it. Thomas was arrested at the apartment.

In March 2017, Thomas was released on consent bail to attend Peardonville House treatment centre.

When her driver stopped at Tim Hortons for a coffee, Thomas said she wanted to have a cigarette. Instead, she ran away and lived in the woods with Charles until July 2017.

Thomas also pleaded guilty to two charges of obstructing justice by giving police a false name.

An updated pre-sentence report revealed that Thomas has been struggling with mental health issues since her teens.

According to the terms of her probation order, Thomas is not allowed to have any contact with Charles. She is prohibited from going to his home or his work.

Thomas must not consume drugs or alcohol and must not go to any of the stores or businesses she defrauded.